PLP Advisors, LLC

Dennis Tubbergen Talks About the Federal Reserve and a Slow Recovery

Dennis Tubbergen's radio show is also available as podcasts on his website.

Grand Rapids, MI -- (ReleaseWire) -- 04/03/2013 -- Financial advisor Dennis Tubbergen can be counted on to give the latest U.S. and world happenings when it comes to the economy and general financial news. However, Tubbergen has spent a lot of time helping people understand our current economy and following the activities and pronouncements of the Federal Reserve.

Tubbergen, who is a financial advisor, author, radio show host and CEO of PLP Advisors, LLC pens a weekly newsletter at www.moving-markets.com and writes a blog that can be viewed at www.dennistubbergen.com. On March 29, his blog was titled Fed Sees Slow Recovery.

"The Federal Reserve is forecasting a slow economic recovery as reported by CNN Money," began Tubbergen. Below he quotes from the March 20, 2013 article.

The Federal Reserve trimmed its forecast for economic growth in 2013, but said Wednesday that it's a bit more optimistic that the unemployment rate will decline.

The Fed expects the U.S. economy to grow between 2.3% and 2.8% this year, slightly weaker than its prior estimates.

Meanwhile, the central bank expects the unemployment rate to fall to between 7.3% to 7.5% by the end of the year. The unemployment rate was 7.7% as of February.

In a press conference later in the afternoon, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was quick to acknowledge recent data showing that job growth picked up in February. But he also cautioned that strong hiring may not be here to stay.

In the last few years, job growth accelerated in the witner, and then slowed a few months later. Bernanke calls it the "spring slump."

"We have seen periods before where we have had as many as 300,000 jobs for a couple of months," he said. "Then things weakened again."

The Fed is also wary about the impact of federal spending cuts and global financial turmoil on the economy. Bernanke cautioned that the Fed alone would probably not be able to fully offset major economic head winds arising from those two issues.

Overall, minor tweaks to the Fed's forecasts don't signal any major changes for monetary policy. The central bank still plans to keep its stimulative policies in place, probably until 2015.

Federal Reserve policymakers voted 11-to-1 to keep short-term interest rates near zero, as the Fed has done since December 2008 in an effort to stimulate the economy.

The Fed reiterated that it intends to keep rates low until the unemployment rate falls to 6.5% or inflation exceeds 2.5% a year. Those are rough guidelines, not strict targets. Most Fed officials don't expect those levels to be met until 2015.

"Bernanke admits that economic growth moving ahead will be anemic and expects that Federal Reserve policy won't change for at least another couple of years due to slow economic growth," explains Tubbergen. "At the same time, the Fed chairman insists that no bubble exists in stocks."

Tubbergen's take on this?

"Common sense dictates he's wrong about one of those two things," concludes Tubbergen.

Tubbergen’s syndicated radio show can be heard on metro Michigan stations WTKG 1230 AM and WOOD Newsradio1300 AM and 106.9 FM. To listen to his shows as podcasts go to www.everythingfinancialradio.com.

About Dennis Tubbergen
Dennis Tubbergen has been in the financial industry for over 25 years and has his corporate offices in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Tubbergen is CEO of PLP Advisors, LLC and has an online blog that can be read at www.dennistubbergen.com. To view Tubbergen’s latest Moving Markets? newsletter, go to www.moving-markets.com.

The opinions expressed herein are those of the writer and not necessarily those of USA Wealth Management, LLC. This update may contain forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements as to future events that involve various risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those that were forecasted. Therefore, no forecast should be construed as a guarantee. Prior to making any investment decision, individuals should consult a professional to determine the risks, costs, benefits and fees associated with a particular investment. Information obtained from third party resources is believed to be reliable but the accuracy cannot be guaranteed.